Tillerson's Recusal One Step Forward on Accountability

Thursday, March 2nd was a win for the environmental community, proving that participation in our democracy can create a more accountable government. The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline was found to benefit ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson’s former employer. After Greenpeace shed light on Tillerson’s conflict of interest with making permit decisions for Keystone XL. Greenpeace’s Executive Director and Democracy Initiative Board Member, Annie Leonard wrote a letter to the Office of Governmental Ethics expressing concerns and thousands of people called into the OGE flooding their phone lines.

These actions proved successful, with the OGE commenting Thursday night that Tillerson would recuse himself from “working on issues related to TransCanada’s application for a presidential permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.” This is a step forward towards a more accountable government but we must continue to push for transparency.

Read Annie Leonard's full letter to the Office of Governmental Ethics here.